Just The Way You Are: A Ronks Story

Brace for Impact

"Are you ready?"

"No."

Five seconds passed.

"Now  are you ready?"

"No."

Ten seconds.

"Okay, how about now?"

"NO!"

"You get one more minute." Tonks was dancing impatiently outside the bathroom door, waiting for Remus to appear so they could go to her parents' house.

"I get the rest of my life," growled Remus. He was sitting on the counter, slowly and methodically brushing his hair. 

"Hurry up!" Tonks pounded on the door.

"No. I have time."

"No you don't!" 

"Yes I do." Remus calmly squirted toothpaste onto his toothbrush. He checked his watch. Fifteen minutes had passed since Sirius had made his dramatic exit and broken the floorboard. There was a loud crash outside the bathroom door. Remus threw it open.

Tonks was lying on the floor, tongue sticking out, under the impression that she was believably dead.

"People don't die with their tongues sticking out." Remus nudged Tonks with his foot. She pulled her tongue back in her mouth, and rolled over. Then she made a sort of choking noise. "They also don't die twice." Remus shook his head and went back into the bathroom, slamming the door. 

"REMUS!!!" screamed Tonks from outside the door. "HELP MEEEE!"

"Yeah, I'm not falling for that." Remus heard a smashing noise. "Did you break my lamp?"

"HELP!" Tonks sounded frantic.

"Just stop faking!" Remus shouted crossly.

"I'M NOT FAKING!" Tonks sounded like she might cry soon.

Remus flung open the door again, wondering what Tonks was doing this time, and gasped. "Hey, out, you!" he waved his toothbrush at a squirrel who had decided to use Tonks as a punching bag. The squirrel ran back out the window, and Tonks buried her face in Remus's chest.

"Why didn't you help me?" Tonks burst into tears.

"Well, sorry, Angel, but I didn't know if you were staging it like before. Are you hurt?" 

"It scratched me!" Tonks sadly held out her wrist and whimpered. Blood trickled down her arm.

Sirius came running in. "What the heck was that?" He saw Tonks crying. "What happened."

"A squirrel came in and attacked Tonks. But she'll be all right, won't you, Tonksie?" Remus looked down at Tonks, who was sobbing as if the world was ending. "Well, in the long run, she will. I'll get her fixed up, and if she's up for it, we'll go see Ted."

"I might just go ahead without you two." Sirius shrugged. "I've been waiting all morning."

"I want to go!" Tonks seemed even more upset at the idea of not spending the day in the snow.

"Walk Sneakers," said Remus, tugging Tonks into the bathroom and running cold water over her injury.

"Fine!" Sirius sounded depressed at the thought of waiting. Sneakers ran over to him with her leash grasped in her little teeth. Sirius and Sneakers ran off to go commit some random crime.

Remus added a Band-aid, and pressed it onto Tonks's arm. "Ow!" Tonks tried to pull away, but Remus was too strong.

"Sorry, Tonks, but I would have helped sooner, and this could have been avoided if you hadn't tried to rush me." Tonks aimed a kick at Remus's left shin. Remus grabbed her by the arms and kept her three feet away from him. When Tonks calmed down, Remus hugged her. "Okay, onward."